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  3. When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of privat

admin2018-03-01  61
问题     When people talk about a "north-south divide" in Britain, they usually refer to house prices, employment and the ratio of private-sector to public-sector jobs. The south scores higher on all such measures. But new data from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), a research charity, implies the growth of another north-south divide—this time to the north’s benefit.
    Every 20 years the BTO produces a detailed picture of bird life in Britain and Ireland. The 2007 to 2011 edition is cheery: more species are recorded than in previous pictures, and many birds are increasing in number. Compared with two decades ago, 45% of regular native species are ranging more widely while 32% are living in smaller areas; the rest have stayed put. But the most striking news comes from the north.
    The overall populations of woodland, farmland and migrant perching birds are up in northern England and Scotland but down in the south. The same is true of individual species such as the garden warbler, bullfinch and swallow. The number of cuckoos, a closely-watched species, declined by 63% in England between 1995 and 2010 but by only 5% in Scotland. Raptors are faring especially well in the south, but their numbers are rising in most parts of Britain.
    Partly this reflects climate change, suggests Simon Gillings of the BTO. Some birds are drawn to warmer winters in Scotland and northern England; visiting migrants may stick around for longer. Hard though it may be to believe during a week of rain, the south is becoming drier, pushing snipe northward. More efficient farming has squeezed some farmland species.
    Some birds find it harder to make homes in the south, too. Pressure on housing means deserted buildings and barns, handy for nesting, have been converted into human dwellings. Between 2006 and 2012 the number of vacant dwellings fell by 17% in London and by 12% in Kent. Over the same period the number of empty houses increased by 16% in Derbyshire and by 10% in Lancashire. Northern mining villages once full of workers are now sparsely populated, points out Ian Bartlett, a birdwatcher in Hartlepool, in north-east England. They have become hot spots for birds and the people who watch them.
    Cultural difference also plays a part, thinks Mark Cocker, an expert on birds. The "obsession with tidiness" is stronger in the south, he says. Fewer people cultivate gardens; they prefer to cover them in decking and remove weeds from between concrete slabs. Village greens are mowed short. In contrast, Scotland and northern England have more trees, grassland and wind-swept moors. Less popular with humans, rugged parts of the countryside are filling up with a winged population instead.
Which of the following is true about the BTO?
选项 A、It’s a non-profit organization that researches on birds in Britain.
B、It’s a charity which protects and offers shelters to birds in Britain.
C、It implies birds prefer living in southern part to living in northern part in Britain.
D、Every 20 years it draws a detailed picture of bird population in the world.
答案A
解析 根据题干中的“BTO”定位到第一段，根据选项D中的“every 20 years”定位到第二段，由此得知该题答案来自一、二两段。选项A对应第一段最后一句：But new data from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), a research charity, ...其中出现了两个难词，一是“ornithology鸟类学”，即使不认识这个词，根据下文“BTO produces a detailed picture of bird life…”可以得知BTO和鸟类有关系；二是“charity(慈善机构)”。所以A项中的“non-profit organization(非营利机构)”=“charity(慈善机构)”；“researches on birds”对应“ornithology”，“research”这两个信息，故A项正确。选项B中的“protects and offers shelters to birds”是原文未提到的，属于无中生有。选项C对应原文的“BTO…implies the growth of another north—south divide—this time to the north’s benefit”．从中我们知道，英国北部的鸟类更多，故C项表述与原文相反。选项D对应第二段首句：Every 20 years the BTO produces a detailed picture of bird life in Britain and Ireland．该项前半部分都对，最后的“in the world”是明显错误，原文说的是“in Britain and Ireland”，故该项是错误的。
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